Four Providence College athletic programs received Public Recognition Awards today (June 5) as part of the NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) program. The four Friar squads to earn the honor were the men's swimming and diving team as well as the women’s cross country, women’s indoor track and field and women’s outdoor track and field teams.

Teams earn NCAA APR Public Recognition Awards based on their most recent multi-year Academic Progress Rate. The awards are then given out each year to teams with APRs in the top-10 percent (plus ties) in each sport.

The same four Friar squads earned APR Public Recognition Awards last June. The men’s swimming and diving team and the women’s outdoor track and field team have now earned a Public Recognition Award for four consecutive years.

The men’s swimming and diving team was one of just three BIG EAST teams to earn the honor, joining Georgetown and Notre Dame, as was the women’s indoor track team, which joined Georgetown and Villanova. Along with Georgetown, the women’s outdoor track team was one of two BIG EAST teams to earn the honor.

The Friars have now had multiple teams honored in all eight years that the NCAA has given out the Public Recognition Awards.

Each year, the NCAA tracks the classroom performance of student-athletes on each Division I team through the annual scorecard of academic achievement, known as APR. The rate measures eligibility, graduation and retention each semester or quarter and provides a clear picture of the academic performance in each sport. The most recent APRs are multi-year rates based on scores from the 2008-09, 2009-10, 2010-11 and 2011-2012 academic years. The complete NCAA APR report for the most recent data will be released on Tuesday, June 11.